Pat Forde: Seven names to watch to replace coach Dan Mullen at Florida

The Florida Gators rocked the college football world on Sunday by firing head football coach Dan Mullen. Mullen’s firing means that there are now two SEC jobs with coaching vacancies in Florida and LSU in addition to other openings including USC and Washington. Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde has highlighted seven names to watch in Florida’s search to replace Mullen as head coach.

Names to watch in Florida’s coaching search

Louisiana head coach Billy Napier
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin
Penn State head coach James Franklin
Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson
Former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops
Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell
Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning

Napier would be an interesting choice for Florida. The 42-year-old Louisiana coach has coached to a 38-12 record and three consecutive seasons with at least ten wins. He has also served as an assistant under Nick Saban, giving him experience in the SEC. Napier is in intriguing candidate for Florida’s next coach, but the Sun Belt to the SEC would be a major jump.

Kiffin and Franklin are seemingly linked to every major opening. Kiffin is already in the SEC, and he has led Ole Miss to a 9-2 record this season. Forde questions whether or not Florida would want to have a personality like Kiffin’s at this point, though. Franklin rebuild Vanderbilt and has been successful at Penn State for the most part. He could ultimately stay at Penn State, but he has been a prominent name in many head coaching searches.

Clawson has really turned Wake Forest into a power in the ACC this season. Wake Forest has one of the most dominant offensive attacks across college football, which is something that would likely intrigue Florida. Stoops is the former longtime head coach at Oklahoma. He won a national championship. Stoops is currently retired, but Florida could be the job that pulls him back into coaching.

Over the last four years at Cincinnati, Fickell has led the Bearcats to a 42-6 record. Cincinnati is the best Group of 5 team this season and vying for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Fickell is one of the hottest names in coaching searches, and he could be an intriguing target for Florida.

Lanning is the man behind Georgia’s historic defense this season. Georgia is allowing just 7.5 points per game, 21.2 points below the national scoring average. That would be a record-breaking performance if it holds. Lanning doesn’t have head coaching experience, but his ability to lead one of the best defenses in the history of college football could be enough for Florida.